In the formation of a tumbling unit or mill, such as a casting shake-out unit, rotary separator, media drum, material drier, lump crusher reclaimer, blending drum, sand screen, or the like, it is desirable to form an inner surface of the tumbling unit from segments. When individual segments wear out, the worn segment can be replaced easily and rapidly without the need to incur a significant amount of downtime or expense. The inner liners usually are also bolted to a drum shell or cylinder by use of numerous bolts. The bolts have a tendency to wear down and the life of the liner may be determined by the life of the bolts. Even if the bolts are recessed, once the liner or deck wears down to the recess, the bolt heads are worn away and a new liner will be required. Although new bolts may be used, this requires constant re-bolting which can be time consuming. Also, some tumbling units, such as a casting shake-out unit, are operated continuously and the wear on the components causes the components or segments to gradually loosen. This requires a re-tightening of the entire formed inner surface. This re-tightening operation requires that the operation of the tumbling unit incur a significant amount of down time. In view of this, it would be desirable for the tumbling unit to operate for a longer period before the segments begin to wear, loosen, and separate. Also, it would be advantageous to have an interlocking liner that does not require bolts or other exposed fastening devices to secure or retain the interlocking liner within a tumbling unit.
The present disclosure is designed to obviate and overcome many of the disadvantages and shortcomings experienced with prior interlocking liners. Moreover, the present disclosure is related to an interlocking liner that is designed and constructed to eliminate the use of bolts to provide a longer life for an interlocking liner used in a tumbling unit.